Less Government, Lower Taxes and More Freedom – 2014 Legislative Session Day 8

Its been a busy Monday morning here in Olympia. Today is Childrens Day where the children of the Representatives are allowed on the House Floor and are given the opportunity to vote on a Resolution. After a morning with my family at the Capital, Im now my first committee meeting of the day.

The Local Government Committee is hearing testimony on five bills today. House Bill 2213 creates a 19 member joint legislative task force (task force) to determine the most effective delivery of electrical code adoption, rule-making, and inspection services and requires the task force to report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature by December 1, 2014.

House Bill 2214 declares the Legislature’s finding that support for technical training and the Code Officials Apprenticeship and Training Program will provide, among other things, consistent and equal access to training for code officials of all jurisdictions and establishes a $2.00 fee on each building permit issued by a city or county, which must be deposited in a Code Officials Apprenticeship and Training Account created in the state treasury and used for expenses of the program.

House Bill 2218 authorizes lake management districts and beach management districts to be created for the purpose of financing the acquisition of real property or property rights within or outside of a district; grants counties specific powers related to the acquisition of real property or property rights within or outside of a lake management district or beach management district; and authorizes counties to issue lake management district or beach management district revenue bonds.

House Bill 2311 finds that due process requires notice of certain land use decisions to be given to adjacent landowners and residents, and declares the Legislatures intent that the Land Use Petition Acts (LUPA) statute of limitations does not run until notice is provided; adds to the LUPA a new date of issuance, the date that notice of certain land use decisions is effective, that triggers the beginning of the 21-day statute of limitations under the LUPA; requires cities with a population of 500,000 or more to provide notice to adjacent landowners and residents of the following land use decisions: (1) applications for and approval of boundary line adjustments; and (2) applications for and approval of preliminary short plats of short subdivisions; defines the term”adjacent landowners and residents.

House Bill 2301 authorizes county legislative authorities, during the period of time county appropriation accounts remain open after the end of a fiscal year, to make transfers, revisions, supplemental appropriations, and appropriations for emergencies occurring prior to the close of the fiscal year.